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A Raisin in the Sun Final Essay
The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, takes place in the late 1940s, a time of much racial and gender discrimination. The Youngers, an extended, financially struggling african american family, are living in a small apartment together. At a certain point in the play, Lena, the grandmother and matriarch of the family, receives a check for $10,000 after her husband passes away. Each person in the family has a different dream of using the money, and antagonism builds between the various family members. Beneatha, the twenty year old daughter of Lena, wants to use the money to go to medical school to become a doctor. Successfully becoming a doctor was an extremely strenuous act for a female during this
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Beneatha uses her rebellious character to challenge the claims of individuals who doubt her ability to succeed in her dreams because of her gender and race. Beneatha’s rebellion is witnessed often in the play, an example being on page 50 during an argument between Beneatha and Lena, who is known throughout the play as “Mama”. Mama and the rest of the Younger family are strong in their religion, God being a crucial part of their lives. Beneatha does not feel this way, however, and this can be seen when she tells Mama, “I mean it! I’m just tired of hearing about God all the time. What has He got to do with anything? Does he pay tuition?” Beneatha’s disobedient behavior causes her to make decisions not because she supports them, but because she is challenging someone else by doing so. Her need to go against what other people are doing will cause her to make other decisions solely because she needs to defy the stances that others take. These type of decisions based off of her insubordinate behavior can be seen several times throughout the play, another being when Walter, Beneatha's brother, tells Beneatha to give up on her dream. …show more content…
This can be observed during her conversation with Mama on page 48. The text states, “Beneatha: People have to express themselves one way or another. Mama: What is it you want to express? Beneatha: Me!” Beneatha’s excitement to express herself reveals that she does not want to do what is expected of her race and gender. She wants to express herself as an individual and let people know the true Beneatha. She is not afraid to stand out, even if she is judged for being unique. Wanting to build herself into a confident individual, Beneatha can be seen during her conversation with Asagai, a close friend, on page 62. Asagai mentions to Beneatha that the first time they had met at school, Beneatha said to him, “Mr. Asagai— I want very much to talk with you. About Africa. You see, Mr. Asagai, I am looking for my identity!” Even when she was younger, Beneatha has always wanted to have her own identity. Most african american girls in this time period were ashamed of their race and gender, however, Beneatha rises above this prejudice by wanting to stand out in a positive way. There are many other times in the play where Beneatha can be seen finding confidence by standing out. On page 62, Beneatha decides to cut her hair short, something not common and frowned upon for african american girls during this time period. She and Asagai have a conversation, Asagai admitting he is confused by her action.
In the play, A Raisin In The Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, she presents a struggling African - American family, who just lost their father. After the death of the family member, their about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. Each adult of the family has there own idea as what he or she wants to do with the money. The ruler of the house hold, Mama, wants to buy an new house and fulfilled a dream she shared with her husband.Mama's son, Walter Lee, wants to invest in a liquor store with friends. He believes that this liquor will help all the financial problems forever. Walter Wife, Ruth, agrees with Mama and with the idea of Walter, hoping he will find a better place and a better opportunity for there son, Travis. Finally, Beneatha, Walter's sister and Mama's daughter, wants to spend the money on her medical school. As the play progresses, the Youngers clash over their competing dreams.Throughout the play Hansberry includes many depicts of betrayal in the family.
	During the course of the play, conflicts between Beneath and her brother Walter are revealed. Walter thinks that his sister should be a mainstream woman and not have great dreams and ambitions for her life. "Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people - then go be a nurse like other women - or just get married an be quiet" (38). This passage shows that Walter is clearly a chauvinist, and does not believe in his sister’s desire to be a doctor. Similarly, Beneatha does not believe in Walters aspirations of becoming a rich entrepreneur, and thinks he is rather...
Lena is old fashioned in her way of thinking, while her kids think in terms of now. There was a difference in opinions about money and religion between the two groups. Lena grew up in a time when religion, and god was the answer to everything. When in need they prayed, and when things were going well; thanks to God was given. On the other hand Beneatha did not feel the same, she felt what she was able to accomplish in life was not because of God.
In the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry (1959), the author depicts an African American family whom struggles with the agonizing inferiority present during the 1950s. Hansberry illustrates the constant discrimination that colored people, as a whole, endured in communities across the nation. Mama, who is the family’s foundation, is the driving force behind the family on the search for a better life. With the family living in extreme poverty, their family bond is crucial in order to withstand the repression. Hansberry effectively portrays the racism within society, and how it reinforced unity amongst the family members.
...llow." Ruth replies by saying, "He’s rich!" That is exactly Beneatha's point. She does not want to be in a relationship with George (boyfriend) simply because he can support her financially. That is how Beneatha proves her point about looking beyond the surface. He seems her obstacle in fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor. She is a strong woman who faces the negative attitude of people with great patience. For example, when Mrs. Johnson (neighbor) says, “I know--- but sometimes she act like ain’t got time to pass the time of day with no body ain’t been to college. It’s just--- you know how some of our young people get when they get a little education” (Hansberry 527).
Walter and Beneatha’s relationship is very complex. The spiraling tension between the two siblings causes confrontation to form and creep into the Younger household. Walter needs his family to respect him as the man of the family, but his sister is constantly belittling him in front of his mother, wife, and son. This denigrating treatment taints Walter’s view of himself as a man, which carries into his decisions and actions. Beneatha also subconsciously deals with the dysfunctional relationship with her brother. She desires to have her brother’s support for her dream of becoming a doctor, yet Walter tends to taunt her aspiration and condemns her for having such a selfish dream. Mama as the head of the family is heartbroken by the juvenile hostility of her adult children, so in hopes to keep her family together she makes the brave move of purchasing a house. Mama’s reasoning for the bold purchase was,“ I—I just seen my family falling apart….just falling to pieces in front of my eyes…We couldn’t have gone on like we was today. We was going backwards ‘stead of forw...
Beneatha on the other hand is more of a realistic character. She is optimistic some days and pessimistic on others. Beneatha is optimistic in the sense that she is a colored woman living in the ghetto and still, she strives and dreams to be a doctor.
When Walter loses his "sister's school money," the consequences are widespread and Beneatha sees that dream diminish before her eyes. She sees her slipping through Walter's fingers and finds her lifelong goals changing. From the days of her childhood, she has longed "to be a doctor" and "fix up the sick." While her family and friends do not understand Beneatha's dream, she continues longing for the education she needs to create a successful life she desires rather than one where she is waiting "to get married.
Beneatha believes that education is the way to understanding and self-fulfillment through knowledge and wisdom. It was rare at this time to find a poor well-educated black woman with such high ambitions. Her Mama knowing how much her education meant to her, told Walter to save $3000 for Beneatha's medical school. When they discovered that Walter had invested the money in his liquor store scheme and Willy had run off with all the money, Beneatha was devastated. Her dream according to Langston Hughes poem Harlem”Or does it explode?” She had lost all hope and even though her spirits may have been lifted after her talk with Asagai and the chance to move into a new house, it seems that Beneatha will never realize her
When talking to Mama and Ruth in a scene about marriage, Beneatha’s opinion on this topic shocks the two other women. When she is asked about her thoughts on who she will marry, Beneatha responds by saying, “I’m not worried who I’m going to marry yet—if I ever get married” (Hansberry 50). Beneatha is not concerned about marriage at the moment because she is studying to become a doctor. Her motivation to become a doctor stems from her want to change the world. Beneatha’s motivation is parallel to her generation’s, the Baby Boomers, drive to improve the world. As the conversation leads towards the topic of religion, Beneatha tells Mama and Ruth that “God is just one of the ideas I don’t accept” (Hansberry 51). Being the youngest of the three women, Beneatha is not as religious as Mama. Instead, she believes that it is wrong that He gets all the credit of humankind. Beneatha not believing in God lines up with how the Baby Boomers are less devout than the GI Generation. Beneatha’s beliefs show how she incorporates more modern values into her
In life there are always going to be ups and downs, good and bad times, because families go through extensive amounts of arguments. Within the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, there are a few complications that the Younger family face. Moreover, the main complications occur between Lena Younger (Mama) and Walter Lee Younger (the son of Mama). Throughout the play, the biggest complication they face is how to spend Walter Lee Senior’s life insurance money. The Younger family goes through several challenging times; however, the family shows that no matter what, everyone should stick together.
Beneatha’s dream is to become a doctor. She believes that her dream was deferred when she was born since she is coloured and a female. Although she fights this, her dream is deferred even more when Walter looses the money which she needed to get into medical school.
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun was one of the first plays that focused on African-American life to debut on Broadway in 1959. The play follows the Youngers, a family living in a Chicago apartment, as they chase the American Dream during the 1950s. With the death of Big Walter, the patriarch of the family, the Youngers have the opportunity to finally achieve their own American Dream by moving into a new home due to Big Walter’s insurance money. However, Walter Lee decides to invest the insurance money in a business in order for his family to achieve the economic success that he always dreamed of. In A Raisin in the Sun, race is one of the most prominent factors that determine whether or not people are able to successfully achieve the American Dream. While the American Dream promises that with hard
She is determined to find her fullness as an individual and to not be defined by the man she marries. Walter constantly criticizes Beneatha’s dream of being a doctor. He treats it as though his dream is no longer feasible. He’s portrayed by Hansberry as being fairly pathetic and helpless. It seems like he needs women to help him move into manhood.
Beneatha is Mama's youngest child. She aspires to become a doctor. Mama wants Beneatha to become what she wants so she decided to put aside some of the insurance money for Beneatha's schooling. Beneatha struggles as a young independent woman who has yet to find her identity. She finds herself trying new hobbies and dating two very different men. During a conversation with one of those men, Asagai, Beneatha is forced by Asagai to realize that she is not very independent at all. In fact she has been depending on the insurance money to get her through school. After this realization, Beneatha gains thoughts on how to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor (Kohorn). She presents her mother with her decision of getting married and how she "plans to find her roots in Africa" with Asagai (Silver).